Guilt
by NeoRetro10K
Summary: Late Angst Day story from three points of view.
1. The Hybrid

I'm really starting to hate this. The late nights, the bad grades, the disappointed looks from my parents - and I can't do anything about it!

That's not even the worst part, though. The worst part is seeing my friends in danger, _again_, because of _my_ enemies. The ghosts that I'm supposed to stop because no one else can fight them the way I can. My parents may be ghost hunters, but my unique abilities give me an edge over ghosts that even my parents' equipment doesn't provide.

That's why I have to do this. Protect everyone I can from _my_ mistake. I _chose_ to go into the portal - something that was _expressly _forbidden by my parents because of how _dangerous_ it was - and it got turned on because of me, and now, ghosts are plaguing _my_ town, practically 24/7.

My friends Sam and Tucker help me fight the ghosts, and keep some semblance of sanity in my life; and they claim to be fine with it. But I can see the effect it's having on them. They help me take care of the ghosts, and then they get into the same trouble that I do for breaking curfew and falling grades. Every time they get in trouble or get hurt, I try to apologize, but they won't have it. They tell me it's worth it to protect the town, but I can't help but feel like I'm taking their lives away from them. My dreams of being an astronaut are already pretty much shot; why should my friends lose their dreams too?

Unfortunately, whenever I try to push them away, keep them safe, they see through it every time, telling me that they'd rather stay by my side instead of hiding on the sidelines. They're the best friends anyone could ever ask for, always caring about my safety and my happiness.

But sometimes, I wish they'd care a little less.


	2. The Goth

Guilt.

I can see it in his eyes every time one of us gets hurt.

Danny does the best he can to protect us, we know that, but he always focuses on the negative. Always taking the blame. But I know where the guilt really lies.

Me.

My fault.

It was just supposed to be a picture. One _stupid_ picture in front of a machine that wasn't even supposed to _work_!

That memory will be burned into my mind forever. How he put on the HAZMAT suit for authenticity. How he stood in front of the metal portal frame, smiling innocently, like nothing big was about to happen. How one suggestion changed the course of his life, probably ruining it completely.

And whose suggestion was it for him to actually go _inside_ the damn thing? Oh yeah.

_Mine._

_I_ did this to him. If I hadn't said anything, we'd all have normal lives, and this weight wouldn't be on Danny's shoulders.

I know he doesn't blame me. Tucker doesn't either. Whenever I look into Danny's eyes, I know that he still just sees his best friend, just like he used to.

But I _know._ I know I'm the one responsible for taking half of Danny's life away from him. And if I can't help him in his battles, if I can't protect him the way he protects us, then I'm afraid he might lose the other half, too.

And it would be every bit my fault as the first half.


	3. The Techie

They just don't _talk _about it. This stupid tension between the two of them is going to drive me crazy one day. I may be considered socially awkward, but when it comes to my best friends Danny and Sam, I can read both of them like a book, and I _know_ what's been bothering them.

Even after such a long time, they're still stuck on the accident.

I guess I understand where they're coming from. Sam technically _did_ suggest that Danny look inside the portal, and it _was _ultimately Danny's choice to go in, but come on! We were fourteen! We were _all_ stupid, _all_ messing around in a basement lab full of dangerous equipment that Danny's parents _said_ not to mess with. None of us listened, but how could _anyone_ have predicted what would happen? For all we knew, the portal was a complete bust. Who knew Danny's parents could have been so absentminded as to leave an ON button on the inside?

You know, as long as Danny and Sam are busy blaming themselves, why can't I, right? I mean, we're all responsible. And if I can't stop my friends from beating themselves up over it, then maybe I can show them how stupid it is to harp on about it by showing them exactly what they're doing.

I could have warned them. Been the voice of reason and all that. That's what a good friend would do.

When Sam said it would be cool to check out the portal, I could have said, no, it _wasn't_ a good idea. But like an idiot, I just stood there, waiting for it to play out.

And when the tortured screams echoed across the lab like the horrible screeching of Hell's spawn itself, I could only stand there in shock as Sam immediately rushed toward the portal to get Danny out. I didn't move a muscle. I couldn't. I felt like I was rooted to the ground by some invisible force. I couldn't save him.

And now Danny and Sam are stuck with their feelings of guilt, without really talking to each other about it. But at least they _do_ something with it. Danny tries his hardest to protect the town, and Sam does her best to keep Danny safe.

And me?

I fiddle with my PDA, like my friends aren't killing themselves over something that really wasn't _anyone's_ fault. Like there's nothing wrong.

But everything about this is wrong.


End file.
